Plucking or Normal Molting?
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Plucking or Normal Molting?
I got this female IRN over the weekend and was told that she was molting, but I guess the more I think about the more paranoid I get that it may be something different. I'm pretty new to keeping birds and I'm trying to research as much as I can. I just wanted to see what others thought.
Re: Plucking or Normal Molting?
Wow, what a scruffy looking bird! 
I don't see any skin, so I would tend towards interpreting this as a heavy molt. Is this bird wet? Or dirty? Not sure where you are, but in Baltimore my bird is dropping feathers left and right.
More photos would be great. If you change and clean the cage every day then you will get an idea of how many feathers are coming out in a day. If you get a big pile, very fast, in one place, then I might worry about plucking. If you see a noticeable bare patch of skin, worry. If your feathers are spread around the cage and come throughout the day, that's a better sign for just molting.
Be sure you have placed the bird in a large enough cage and that she has something to occupy her time. She may want a little hiding spot where she can hide from you if she is scared. Take some more photos and let us know how it goes.
I don't see any skin, so I would tend towards interpreting this as a heavy molt. Is this bird wet? Or dirty? Not sure where you are, but in Baltimore my bird is dropping feathers left and right.
More photos would be great. If you change and clean the cage every day then you will get an idea of how many feathers are coming out in a day. If you get a big pile, very fast, in one place, then I might worry about plucking. If you see a noticeable bare patch of skin, worry. If your feathers are spread around the cage and come throughout the day, that's a better sign for just molting.
Be sure you have placed the bird in a large enough cage and that she has something to occupy her time. She may want a little hiding spot where she can hide from you if she is scared. Take some more photos and let us know how it goes.
-MissK